CSP Daily News - taxeshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/article-keywords/taxes
enRetailers Caught in the Middle of Soda-Tax Lawsuitshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/retailers-caught-middle-soda-tax-lawsuits
<div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/profile/steve-holtz" class=" steve-holtz">Steve Holtz</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/gavel-law-court-885x524-ss_4.jpg" width="885" height="524" alt="Lawsuits acoming" /></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-summary field--type-text-long field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Summary:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>4 legal actions and an effort to repeal</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-section field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/section/category-news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" category-news">Category News</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/section/beverages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" beverages">Beverages</a></div></div></div><div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-enhanced-slideshow field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Enhanced Slideshow:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/8299" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/gavel-law-court-885x524-ss_3.jpg?itok=Ph72tvTb" width="885" height="524" alt="Lawsuits" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p><strong>CHICAGO --</strong> Several lawsuits have been filed in Chicago since a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/cook-county-ill-soda-tax-moves-forward">went into effect</a> in Cook County, Ill., on Aug. 3, and more often than not, retailers and quick-service restaurants are taking the heat.</p>
<p>So far, 7-Eleven convenience stores, Walgreens drug stores and McDonald's restaurants, each leaders in their respective retail channels, have been caught in the fray.</p>
<p>Here's a look at some of the pending lawsuits and the status of an effort to eliminate the week-old tax ...</p>
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<h2>The c-store</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/7-eleven-new-exterior-885_5.jpg?itok=MppURW7y" width="768" height="455" alt="7-Eleven store" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>A lawsuit filed Aug. 9 in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleges that 7-Eleven stores are charging the soda tax for every fountain cup used, even if the drink inside is unsweetened, according to an <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Latest-Soda-tax-Suit-Claims-7-Eleven-Taxing-Cup-Not-Drink-439514773.html">NBC5 Chicago report</a>.</p>
<p>Kelly Tarrant of Chicago claims in her lawsuit that she purchased iced coffee in a Super Big Gulp cup, and was charged 28 cents for the tax on sweetened beverages, though her coffee was black.</p>
<p>The lawsuit seeks to get people their money back and get <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/top-convenience-stores/retailer/7-eleven-inc-2017">7-Eleven Inc.</a>, Irving, Texas, to change its point-of-sale system to properly implement the tax. 7-Eleven did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.</p>
<p>“While the individual amounts are relatively small, when you add it all up, it adds up to a lot. 7-Eleven has hundreds of stores in Cook County and sells beverages to thousands of people every day,” said attorney Tom Zimmerman, who filed the lawsuit. “That little bit of overtaxing can add up.”</p>
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<h2>The QSR</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/mcdonalds-food-885_1.jpg?itok=I5x042bQ" width="885" height="524" alt="McDonald&#039;s" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>A day earlier, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s was accused in a lawsuit of improperly applying the tax as part of the subtotal, meaning an additional county sales tax was then applied to the amount of the soda tax, according to a <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-mcdonalds-walgreens-soda-tax-lawsuits-0809-biz-20170808-story.html">Chicago Tribune report</a>.</p>
<p><em>UPDATE: This lawsuit was <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-soda-tax-mcdonalds-lawsuit-0816-biz-20170815-story.html">dismissed</a> Aug. 15.</em></p>
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<h2>The drug store</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/Walgreens-evening-885_1.jpg?itok=VKbLz9CG" width="885" height="524" alt="Walgreens" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>And as <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/retailer-sued-over-beverage-tax-charges">previously reported</a> in <em>CSP Daily News</em>, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens is accused of charging the tax on unsweetened packaged beverages.</p>
<p>Representatives of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association say the numerous lawsuits substantiate the group's claim that the soda tax is too vague.</p>
<p>“We kept saying the tax was unconstitutionally vague and difficult to understand," spokesperson Tanya Triche Dawood told NBC5. "It seems we have a combination of honest mistakes and confusion over how to collect.”</p>
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<h2>The county pulls back</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/toni-preckwinkle-885.jpg?itok=hjTrv9yB" width="885" height="524" alt="Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>Meanwhile, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) was almost the target of a soda-tax lawsuit itself.</p>
<p>After the IRMA's legal challenge of the constitutionality of the soda tax forced a one-month delay in enacting the tax, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, above, threatened to sue the association—and thus its retail members—for $17 million she claimed the county lost during that month.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, on Aug. 8, Preckwinkle withdrew the threat.</p>
<p>"Now that the appellate court has rejected the emergency motion that would again prevent us from collecting the sweetened-beverage tax, we believe we should move forward cooperatively and in good faith with the county's retail industry. As a result, the county has determined that withdrawing its petition for damages would serve the public interest," the county said in a statement.</p>
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</div></div><div class="field__item odd"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/8304" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<h2>County backlash</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/soda-cans-july-885_1.jpg?itok=FucLDRfx" width="885" height="524" alt="Soda cans" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>Meanwhile, a new effort to repeal the soda tax has cropped up among county commissioners moved by public outcry.</p>
<p>Commissioner Sean Morrison plans to propose a repeal of the tax Sept. 13, claiming the measure moved forward based on an initial promise of improving public health. Instead, he told <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/08/09/soda-tax-repeal-in-the-works/">CBSChicago</a>, the effort has become all about raising money for the county's general fund.</p>
<p>“A lot of the commissioners, we feel, may be in a different position on how they’re going to look at this tax, especially now that we’ve seen it enacted,” he said, also referencing the extreme public outcry against the tax.</p>
<p>In a poll conducted Aug. 3-6 commissioned by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, nearly 87% of Cook County residents surveyed expressed disapproval for the tax.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://w3.cdn.anvato.net/player/prod/v3/anvload.html?key=eyJtIjoiY2JzIiwidiI6IjM3MTIxMDEiLCJhbnZhY2siOiJhbnZhdG9fY2JzbG9jYWxfYXBwX3dlYl9wcm9kXzU0N2YzZTQ5MjQxZWYwZTVkMzBjNzliMmVmYmNhNWQ5MmM2OThmNjciLCJwbHVnaW5zIjp7ImNvbXNjb3JlIjp7ImNsaWVudElkIjoiMzAwMDAyMyIsImMzIjoiQ2hpY2Fnby5jYnNsb2NhbC5jb20ifSwiZGZwIjp7ImNsaWVudFNpZGUiOnsiYWRUYWdVcmwiOiJodHRwOi8vcHViYWRzLmcuZG91YmxlY2xpY2submV0L2dhbXBhZC9hZHM%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%3D" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></p>
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</div></div><div class="field__item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/8324" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<h2>The food-stamp problem</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/snap-food-stamps-885.jpg?itok=2nAbV-GT" width="885" height="524" alt="SNAP food stamps" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>Finally, $87 million in federal food-stamp money could be withheld from the state of Illinois if Cook County's sweetened beverage tax isn't administered differently, according to a <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-soda-tax-food-stamps-preckwinkle-0811-biz-20170810-story.html">Chicago Tribune report.</a></p>
<p>Under federal law, purchases made with food-stamp benefits are exempt from the soda tax. The county, however, allowed retailers to tax those purchases and provide refunds as a workaround for stores that haven't been able to properly update their point-of-sale systems.</p>
<p>As a result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services, the federal agency overseeing the food stamp program the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, warned the Illinois Department of Human Services that federal money could be withheld. The state passed along that warning to the county on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The county is reviewing the matter, the report said.</p>
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</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-keywords field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/article-keywords/carbonated-soft-drink" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" carbonated-soft-drink">carbonated soft drink</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/article-keywords/packaged-beverages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" packaged-beverages">packaged beverages</a></div><div class="field__item even"><a href="/article-keywords/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" taxes">taxes</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-next-slideshow field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Next Slideshow:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/category-news/beverages/articles/4-updates-pending-soda-taxes" class=" 4-updates-on-pending-soda-taxes">4 Updates on Pending Soda Taxes</a></div></div></div><span property="dc:title" content="Retailers Caught in the Middle of Soda-Tax Lawsuits" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Thu, 10 Aug 2017 16:26:01 +0000Steve Holtz49928 at http://www.cspdailynews.comhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/retailers-caught-middle-soda-tax-lawsuits#comments2 States to Test Miles-Traveled Taxhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/2-states-test-miles-traveled-tax
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- </strong>Two East Coast states are about to test a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, meant to either supplement or replace a gasoline tax.</p>
<p>The I-95 Corridor Coalition, an alliance of transportation agencies, toll authorities and public safety organizations for East Coast states from Maine to Florida, will begin testing a VMT tax in Delaware and Pennsylvania, <a href="http://wtop.com/traffic/2017/08/east-coast-looks-charging-drivers-per-mile/">reported WTOP</a>. The VMT model levies a charge based on how many miles a person drives. A 2012 report conducted for the I-95 Corridor Coalition determined that the gas tax is unsustainable as a road-funding mechanism over the long term for East Coast states, and found the VMT model as “a primary candidate to replace or supplement motor fuel taxes” because it directly charges drivers who use the road.</p>
<p>On the West Coast, Oregon has been testing the VMT model for more than a decade in two separate pilot programs. Volunteers pay a 1.5-mile-per-gallon fee in lieu of the state’s gas tax. Mileage is determined either with a device installed in the participants’ vehicles or through a GPS-based system.</p>
<p>The I-95 Corridor Coalition project would include a three-month pilot in 2018 involving 50 vehicles in Delaware and Pennsylvania, according to program contractor CH2M Hill. In the process, the project would examine how to apply mileage fees on toll roads, how to calculate miles for out-of-state drivers and how to transfer payments from state to state.</p>
<p>The $1.16 million project is funded by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, with drivers, state agencies, trucking and tolling groups providing feedback for the final report.</p>
<p>“We’re not endorsing this … but we want to make sure we explore it,” Patricia Hendren, executive director of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, College Park, Md., told WTOP. Assuming the pilot is successful and the I-95 Corridor Coalition wins more grant money, a broader pilot could take place.</p>
<p>“A larger pilot gets into how we address pretty sticky issues, like privacy, technology and crossing state lines—basically what something like this would really look like in practice,” said Hendren.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Samantha Oller</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/2-states-test-miles-traveled-tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="2 States to Test Miles-Traveled Tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Thu, 10 Aug 2017 15:08:07 +0000soller@winsightmedia.com49927 at http://www.cspdailynews.comFuels News, Prices & AnalysisFuels Newshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/2-states-test-miles-traveled-tax#commentsRetailer Sued Over Beverage-Tax Chargeshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/retailer-sued-over-beverage-tax-charges
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>CHICAGO --</strong> Less than a week after a sweetened-beverage tax went into effect in Cook County, Ill., an area resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against Walgreens claiming the drug-store retailer is charging the tax on unsweetened drinks, and a CBS 2 Chicago news report shows similar confusion at a Chicago convenience store.</p>
<p>Vince De Leon of Schaumburg, Ill., filed the two-count lawsuit Aug. 7 on behalf of himself and anyone else who has paid the new tax on an unsweetened drink at a Walgreens location, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. The lawsuit alleges Walgreens violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and was unjustly enriched by collecting the taxes.</p>
<p>The filing comes less than a week after the county's 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages went into effect on Aug. 3.</p>
<p>De Leon claimed he was wrongfully charged the sweetened-beverage tax on a case of Dasani Tropical Pineapple Sparkling Water on Aug. 4 at the Walgreens store in the 1000 block of North Roselle Road in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, even though the case was “clearly labeled ‘unsweetened,’ ” according to the lawsuit. De Leon didn’t know he should not have been charged the tax until later and claims Walgreens deceived him in the purchase.</p>
<p>The lawsuit details two other transactions in which people who are unnamed in the complaint were charged the tax on unsweetened beverages, according to the report. And a CBS 2 Chicago news report (see video below) chronicles a reporter seeing the tax added when she purchases an unsweetened bottled water at a Chicago c-store.</p>
<p>Walgreens has not responded to the lawsuit so far.</p>
<p>The class-action lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, requests a trial by jury and seeks at least $50,000 in damages, including the refund of all improperly charged sweetened-beverage taxes.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Steve Holtz</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/category-news/beverages/articles/retailer-sued-over-beverage-tax-charges" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="Retailer Sued Over Beverage-Tax Charges" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Tue, 08 Aug 2017 15:35:38 +0000Steve Holtz49904 at http://www.cspdailynews.comCSP Daily NewsCategory NewsBeverageshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/retailer-sued-over-beverage-tax-charges#commentsJudge to Rule Friday on Soda Taxhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-rule-friday-soda-tax
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>CHICAGO --</strong> A Cook County, Ill., judge has extended a temporary restraining order blocking a pending soda tax for at least another week.</p>
<p>Judge Daniel Kubasiak heard arguments in the case on July 21 and said he will rule on the issue on Friday, July 28.</p>
<p>The restraining order was <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-delays-countys-soda-tax">put in place June 30</a>—a day before the tax was to begin—at the request of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which is claiming the tax is too vague and unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Cook County officials adopted the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on all beverages to raise money for its general fund. The county anticipated the tax would raise more than $67 million this year and $200 million in 2018.</p>
<p>Since implementation of the tax was delayed, the county has issued more than 100 layoff notices of county workers and <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-postpones-cook-county-beverage-tax-again">threatened 1,000 more</a>, saying they cannot afford to pay the salaries without the new tax income.</p>
<p>So-called soda taxes are becoming more popular for cities across the country as ways to either reduce consumers’ sugar intake, to raise revenue or both. Currently, sugar-sweetened drinks are taxed in five U.S. cities: Berkeley, Albany and Oakland, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; and Philadelphia. New taxes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018, in San Francisco and Seattle, making Kubasiak’s ruling a significant indicator of how soda taxes will progress in the future.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Steve Holtz</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-rule-friday-soda-tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="Judge to Rule Friday on Soda Tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:10:02 +0000Steve Holtz49793 at http://www.cspdailynews.comCSP Daily NewsCategory NewsBeverageshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-rule-friday-soda-tax#commentsStates Weigh Carbon Regulation to Fight Climate Changehttp://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-weigh-carbon-regulation-fight-climate-change
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="content:encoded"><p>This does not seem like the dawning of an age of carbon regulation.</p>
<p>In May, President Trump announced the United States was exiting the Paris climate agreement, after tweeting that the concept of global warming was a hoax “created by and for the Chinese.” His head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has likewise dismissed climate science and pledged to help the carbon-intensive coal industry regain its footing.</p>
<p>And yet carbon regulation may be more of a reality now than at any time during previous administrations. For one, bipartisan support is slowly building. In February, a group of Republican officials, including James Baker, former secretary of state for President Bush, and Henry Paulson, former secretary of the treasury, proposed the idea of a federal carbon tax to Trump administration officials. Their proposal, “The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends,” would levy a $40-per-ton fee on carbon.</p>
<p>While the White House said it is not considering the proposal, some of the president’s advisers, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and economic adviser Gary Cohn, support climate action. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former head of ExxonMobil, and Department of Energy chief Rick Perry argued for the United States to stay in the Paris climate agreement. And Tillerson’s successor at ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, along with the CEOs of Royal Dutch Shell, BP and other major oils, have advocated a carbon tax.</p>
<p>Finally—and perhaps most important—the aggressive anti-climate stance of the Trump administration is raising the potential for state-level action, particularly in regions with blue-leaning governorships and legislatures.</p>
<p>“In the absence of the federal government, states are going to take the action,” says John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, Alexandria, Va. “It happened with menu labeling, [and] it’s going to happen here.”</p>
<h4>States to Watch</h4>
<p>The first places to look for carbon regulatory action are the 10 states that have adopted the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program, which originated as a California regulation and aims to push automakers to offer more electric vehicles (EV). Beyond California, the other nine states that have committed to the ZEV program are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont on the East Coast, and Oregon on the West Coast.</p>
<ul style="margin-left: 80px;"><li><a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-carbon-regulation"><em>Click here to see where regulatory devices are under consideration.</em></a></li>
</ul><p>“Chances are they’d be the first to go to some sort of advanced carbon-control mechanism,” says Eichberger. California has already led the pack with its Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which was signed into law in 2007 by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the state’s transportation fuels by 10% by 2020.</p>
<p>California is attempting to reach this goal by setting up a credit framework, similar to the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/cost-of-carbon.png" style="width: 223px; height: 1043px; float: right;" />It assigns each transportation fuel a carbon-intensity score. Fuel producers and importers must take these scores into account as they aim to hit a fuel-pool carbon-intensity target for each year. Those who exceed the target must buy LCFS credits to make up the difference. (Most fuel marketers and retailers are not obligated parties in the LCFS, but they would see any cost increases refiners and suppliers pass on.)</p>
<p>Despite fears of a $1- to $2-per-gallon increase on gasoline prices, the LCFS appears thus far to have had only a minor effect. A court challenge tied up the rollout of more aggressive carbon-reduction goals, reducing pricing pressure for the credits, which have trended around $80 to $90 per ton. This has translated to a 4-cent-per-gallon (CPG) increase from the LCFS, according to David Hackett, president of energy consulting group Stillwater Associates, Irvine, Calif.</p>
<p>“There’s been more overcompliance than originally anticipated, but that’s because the demand for carbon-intensity reduction has been lower than anticipated,” Hackett says. “That’s about to change.”</p>
<p>The LCFS ratchets up the carbon-intensity reduction targets in a stair-step fashion. For California to hit its 10% reduction target by 2020, it has a lot of ground to make up—and quickly. “So it gets really steep,” Hackett says. “The change in carbon-intensity requirements will increase pretty dramatically between now and 2020.”</p>
<p>The result? Assuming that credits hit their price cap of $215 per ton in 2020, the additional cost to gasoline from LCFS would zoom from 4 to 24 CPG.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, California also has a cap-and-trade program, which sets a greenhouse-gas limit, or cap, on hundreds of industries responsible for most of the state’s emissions. This cap is set to decline 3% annually from 2015 to 2020. Companies use emission allowances to cover their emissions and can buy additional ones on the open market. Current cap-and-trade costs for gasoline are about 11 CPG and are expected to rise 4 CPG by 2020, Hackett says.</p>
<h4>Capping Costs</h4>
<p>If you ask a California refiner or fuel marketer which system they prefer more—LCFS or cap and trade—many would favor the latter, Hackett says. That is because the cost of cap and trade is more transparent. For example, some fuel suppliers have broken out an LCFS charge on their invoices to retailers, while others have decided not to.</p>
<p>Whether LCFS, cap and trade or carbon tax, “everyone will increase costs,” Eichberger says. “What retailers like is if costs are going up, be transparent about it.”</p>
<p>In the case of the LCFS, the truth is difficult to tease out because of the lack of transparency along the supply chain. The Fuels Institute is commissioning a study on the LCFS, slated for 2018, to dig into how the program has played out, and what retailers have done to comply.</p>
<p>“So there’s this murky justification: Is it working? What are people actually paying for?” Eichberger says. “In that respect, transparency comes from a carbon tax; everyone knows what it is. The tax was ‘X,’ and that’s why prices are going up.”</p>
<p>A more transparent carbon tax may soon make its U.S. debut on the East Coast, where legislators in four states—Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont—have introduced legislation. Massachusetts is the furthest along in the process. In that state, two different carbon-pricing bills are before the state House and Senate with a total of 80 sponsors, or about 40% of the legislature, according to The Washington Post. This would be 32 more sponsors than a similar, failed 2015 proposal.</p>
<p>“Last year was an educational opportunity,” Rebecca Morris, communications director at the Massachusetts Campaign for a Clean Energy Future, told the newspaper. “People were still learning about the concept [and] the bill.”</p>
<p>The Senate bill proposed by state Sen. Mike Barrett is revenue-neutral, meaning any money raised from the fee would be returned to consumers in the form of tax credits, quarterly dividend checks or similar means—a feature that aims to gain public support for the fee and take the financial pressure off low-income families. The House bill, proposed by state Rep. Jennifer Benson, would invest 20% of the carbon fee’s revenue in green infrastructure and clean energy.</p>
<p>Rhode Island has included “trigger language” in its own carbon-tax legislation to make its implementation contingent on whether the Massachusetts carbon-tax bill goes into effect. Connecticut has similar language in its own bill to enact a carbon fee of no less than $10 per ton on the condition that Massachusetts and Rhode Island pass their legislation.</p>
<p>And in Vermont, four bills sponsored by Democratic legislators are under development that would institute a carbon tax. All, as in Massachusetts, are revenue-neutral.</p>
<h4>Price at the Pump</h4>
<p>What effect would a carbon tax have on gasoline prices? According to an analysis by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, a $10-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide, the most prolific greenhouse gas, would increase the pump price by about 9 CPG.</p>
<p>In Canada, the federal government has mandated that all provinces must implement their own carbon-pricing framework—either a tax or cap and trade—by 2018, or adopt the national model. Alberta, which is expected to reflect the national approach, began implementing a $20-per-ton carbon tax in January 2017 and will raise it to $30 in 2018. So far, it has increased gasoline prices by an estimated 4.5 cents per liter—the equivalent of about 17 CPG—according to The Canadian Press.</p>
<p>While the implications of carbon regulation are still playing out, the motivation to act on the state and local level is becoming increasingly clear.</p>
<p>“There is momentum and an appetite to do this a little bit more widespread,” says Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), Wall, N.J. “[The Republicans] want to kick more rights down to the states from the federal platform. Some states, especially those with Democratic governors and that are more progressive, will look seriously at cap and trade.”</p>
<p>Consider it a resistance movement that will begin on the coasts, led by California and Gov. Jerry Brown.</p>
<p>“I see Washington declining in influence but the momentum being maintained by California and other states aligned with China and those who are willing to do something,” Brown told the Los Angeles Times, saying that a “countermovement” is in order.</p>
<p>“We are doubling down on our commitment. We are reaching out to other states in America and throughout the world and other countries. … We have plenty of fuel to build this movement.”</p>
<hr /><h4><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/carbon-thinker.png" style="width: 268px; height: 349px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Doing the Carbon-Tax Math</h4>
<p>“It is safe to assume a carbon tax of some sort is in our future, even with a Republican presidential administration and Republican Congress,” says Joe Petrowski, former head of Gulf Oil and Cumberland Farms and founder of Mercantor Partners, Framingham, Mass. “The only major uncertainty: Will it be a straight tax or a system of cap and trade?”</p>
<p>It’s not that the federal and state governments will be motivated by “environmental angst,” he says. Instead, the momentum for the tax will be driven “by revenue lust and the ability to distribute favors in implementing the tax—the favorite business of government.”</p>
<p>Petrowski points to one revenue need in particular: infrastructure funding. The Highway Trust Fund is continually in the red as more fuel-efficient vehicles squeeze out the same amount of travel with less fuel.</p>
<p>“If you assume a price on carbon dioxide (CO2) of $20 per ton, and with the United States producing 6 million tons of CO2 per year, it is a nice $120-million-per-year reoccurring revenue stream for a political class that cannot resist new sources of revenue,” says Petrowski.</p>
<p>At $20 per ton or about 1 cent per pound, this would add about 20 CPG to the price of gasoline and 23 CPG to diesel—an amount he considers acceptable to the consumer at a time when fuel prices are at historic lows.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/profile/samantha-oller" class=" samantha-oller">Samantha Oller</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-summary field--type-text-long field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Summary:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Why pollution taxes may be more of a reality now than at any time during previous presidential administrations</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-main-image field--type-image field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/carbon.png" width="300" height="225" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-related-issue field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Related Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/print/csp-magazine/issues/csp-magazine-july-2017" class=" csp-magazine--july-2017">CSP Magazine | July 2017</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-magazine-article-type field--type-list-text field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Magazine Article Type:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Features</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-feature-level field--type-list-text field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Magazine Article Feature Level:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Feature 5</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-section field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/section/print" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" print">Print</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/section/csp-magazine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" csp-magazine">CSP Magazine</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-also-in-the-news field--type-list-boolean field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Also in the News:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Include in Also in the News</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-top-news-archive field--type-list-boolean field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Top News Archive:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-keywords field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Related Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/article-keywords/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" taxes">taxes</a></div></div></div><span property="dc:title" content="States Weigh Carbon Regulation to Fight Climate Change" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:38:59 +0000Steve Holtz49776 at http://www.cspdailynews.comhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-weigh-carbon-regulation-fight-climate-change#commentsThe State(s) of Carbon Regulationhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-carbon-regulation
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="content:encoded"><p>While no U.S. state has adopted a carbon tax yet, at least one has implemented carbon-pricing programs, and several are in different stages of considering a fee. Here’s a look at where regulatory devices are under consideration and where they could soon become reality.</p>
<ul style="margin-left: 80px;"><li><a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-weigh-carbon-regulation-fight-climate-change"><em>Click here to read why pollution taxes may be more of a reality now than at any time during previous presidential administrations.</em></a></li>
</ul><h4>Existing</h4>
<p><strong>British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec</strong></p>
<p>All eight Canadian provinces and three territories are required to introduce carbon-pricing plans by 2018 or adopt the national model. So far, four provinces have taken action. British Columbia and Alberta have carbon taxes in place, while Ontario and Quebec have adopted cap-and-trade programs.</p>
<p><strong>California</strong></p>
<p>The sixth-largest economy in the world is also home to the United States’ fırst carbon-pricing regulations: the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and a cap-and-trade program. The state is striving to cut the carbon intensity of fuels 10% by 2020 through the LCFS.</p>
<h4>Pending</h4>
<p><strong>Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island</strong></p>
<p>The Massachusetts legislature is considering two carbon-pricing bills, both implementing a $10-per-ton fee on carbon dioxide that will grow to a cap of $40. Should Massachusetts’ bill pass, the nearby states of Connecticut and Rhode Island have included “trigger language” in their own carbon-tax bills that would require their provisions to go into effect to avert any cross-border competitive issues.</p>
<p><strong>Vermont</strong></p>
<p>Four bills are under development that would institute a revenue-neutral carbon tax.</p>
<p><strong>Washington</strong></p>
<p>The West Coast state got close to adopting a revenue-neutral carbon tax in late 2016, but voters rejected the proposal on the November ballot. Legislators have introduced four carbon-tax bills so far in 2017, according to The Washington Post.</p>
<h4>Potential</h4>
<p><strong>Hawaii, Maryland, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia</strong></p>
<p>Other states have the potential to implement their own carbon tax, according to an analysis by the Carbon Tax Center. While their locations across the country vary, their conditions are most hospitable to a carbon tax. These include their potential for weighty effects from climate change, voter concern about climate change and state renewable-energy initiatives.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/profile/samantha-oller" class=" samantha-oller">Samantha Oller</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-summary field--type-text-long field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Summary:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">A look at where regulatory devices are under consideration and where they could soon become reality</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-main-image field--type-image field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Main Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/refinery.png" width="300" height="225" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-related-issue field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Related Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/print/csp-magazine/issues/csp-magazine-july-2017" class=" csp-magazine--july-2017">CSP Magazine | July 2017</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-magazine-article-type field--type-list-text field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Magazine Article Type:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Features</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-feature-level field--type-list-text field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Magazine Article Feature Level:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Feature 5</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-section field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/section/print" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" print">Print</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/section/csp-magazine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" csp-magazine">CSP Magazine</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-also-in-the-news field--type-list-boolean field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Also in the News:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Include in Also in the News</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-top-news-archive field--type-list-boolean field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Top News Archive:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-keywords field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Related Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/article-keywords/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" taxes">taxes</a></div></div></div><span property="dc:title" content="The State(s) of Carbon Regulation" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:20:19 +0000Steve Holtz49775 at http://www.cspdailynews.comhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/print/csp-magazine/article/states-carbon-regulation#commentsNew York C-Store Retailer Pleads Guilty to Grand Larcenyhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/new-york-c-store-retailer-pleads-guilty-grand-larceny
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>NEW YORK -- </strong>A New York convenience-store retailer has confessed to stealing more than $1 million in sales tax collected for gasoline sales.</p>
<p>Kulbir Singh, who owns Dashmesh Petroleum Inc., Gobind Petroleum Inc. and Karam Mart Inc., operated three gasoline stations in Nassau County. They include a station in West Hempstead owned by Gobind Petroleum, one in Valley Stream owned by Dashmesh Petroleum and one in Elmont, N.Y., owned by Karam Mart Inc. His son, Ladpreet Singh, operated a fourth station, Karam Mart.</p>
<p><a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-acting-tax-commissioner-manion-announce-felony-conviction-nassau">According to an investigation</a> led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the gas stations collected but failed to remit to the state more than $1 million in sales taxes from September 2011 through December 2014.</p>
<p>Kulbir Singh pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny in the third degree. He must pay $150,000 in restitution and sign a confession of judgment for the remaining $850,000 of the $1 million in stolen taxes. He will also be sentenced to a prison term of 1.3 to four years.</p>
<p>The defendant corporations—Dashmesh Petroleum, Gobind Petroleum and Karam Mart—pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny in the second degree and were fined $50,000 each. And Ladpreet Singh pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation.</p>
<p>Kulbir Singh’s businesses had previously been convicted of failing to pay sales tax, according to the attorney general's office. In 2012, he admitted to stealing more than $500,000 in sales taxes collected by four of his gas stations. At the time, the corporations pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud and agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution, interest and penalties. But they only paid $500,000. As the Department of Taxation and Finance was investigating the failure to pay the rest of the restitution, it discovered that Singh was continuing to steal sales tax proceeds from his gasoline stations.</p>
<p>“This was a case of blatant theft from New York state and its taxpayers,” said Nonie Manion, acting commissioner of taxation and finance. “Despite a previous felony conviction for the same crime, the defendant continued to steal money that should have been used to fund vital public services. We will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement, including the attorney general’s office, to ensure that these crimes don’t go unpunished.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Samantha Oller</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/new-york-c-store-retailer-pleads-guilty-grand-larceny" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="New York C-Store Retailer Pleads Guilty to Grand Larceny" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Mon, 17 Jul 2017 14:51:56 +0000soller@winsightmedia.com49735 at http://www.cspdailynews.comFuels News, Prices & AnalysisFuels Newshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/fuels-news-prices-analysis/fuels-news/articles/new-york-c-store-retailer-pleads-guilty-grand-larceny#commentsJudge Postpones Cook County Beverage Tax Againhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-postpones-cook-county-beverage-tax-again
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>CHICAGO --</strong> Cook County, Ill., retailers and consumers have at least another week before a new beverage tax begins after a Circuit Court judge again postponed a hearing in a lawsuit brought by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association seeking to block the tax.</p>
<p>A 1-cent-per-ounce tax on the sale of sweetened beverages was scheduled to go into effect July 1 but was delayed by a temporary restraining order a day before. The temporary restraining order was set to run through Wednesday, but a scheduled hearing was pushed back in the wake of a motion by the Cook County Department of Revenue to dismiss the lawsuit, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-soda-tax-hold-extended-0712-biz-20170711-story.html">according to a report</a> in the Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>"We believe it's the county's attempt to both try to bleed us and buy more time to try their PR campaign that the sky is falling," Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said July 11, according to the report.</p>
<p>In the wake of Tuesday's postponement, Cook County officials announced that more than 1,100 layoff notices could go out this month in the Chicago area, according to an Associated Press report. The county was counting on raising $67.5 million with the tax through Nov. 30 and had warned that cuts were possible without it.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Steve Holtz</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-postpones-cook-county-beverage-tax-again" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="Judge Postpones Cook County Beverage Tax Again" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:42:21 +0000Steve Holtz49707 at http://www.cspdailynews.comCSP Daily NewsCategory NewsBeverageshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-postpones-cook-county-beverage-tax-again#commentsJudge Delays County's Soda Taxhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-delays-countys-soda-tax
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"><p><strong>CHICAGO -- </strong>A Cook County circuit court judge has delayed the implementation of a sweetened-beverage tax in the county to give the court time to determine if the tax is unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Scheduled to kick in July 1, the tax was delayed to July 12 by Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak, who granted the temporary restraining order just days after the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and several grocers filed a lawsuit against the Cook County Department of Revenue seeking to block the tax, which they argue is unconstitutional and too vague, according to <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-cook-soda-tax-0701-biz-20170630-story.html">a report</a> in the Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>County officials have said the penny-per-ounce tax is needed to pay for services and will improve the public's health over time. How long the temporary restraining order remains in place, and whether the judge later decides to permanently block the tax on a wide variety of sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages, will determine how much the county will have to adjust its budget.</p>
<p>This year, county officials anticipate about $67.5 million to come from the beverage tax.</p>
<p>"The court is fully aware of the importance of the tax to defendant's budget," Kubasiak wrote in his ruling, according to the newspaper. "However, the court believes it is necessary to maintain the status quo to protect the interests of all consumers, all taxpayers" and the affected merchants.</p>
<p>Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she was disappointed and planned to ask the appellate court to vacate the temporary restraining order. The county will "continue to aggressively defend our ordinance," she said.</p>
<p>Preparing for the soda tax has been a time-consuming process for Chicago grocery chain Pete's Fresh Market, which was still testing the tax's implementation on its checkout system Friday afternoon when word of the judge's ruling came down.</p>
<p>"It's a relief," Vanessa Dremonas, executive officer for the family-owned chain, which has 11 of its 12 stores in Cook County, told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Getting ready for the soda tax required more than updating the checkout system, Dremonas said, citing a "trickle-down" effect that touched everything from signage and advertising to Instacart grocery delivery.</p>
<p>The temporary restraining order means the county can't impose the sweetened-beverage tax until at least July 12, when a hearing is scheduled on the preliminary injunction.</p>
<p>Whether the tax is unconstitutional will be taken up at a later date.</p>
<p>Retailers argue that, under the Illinois Constitution, similar objects should be taxed uniformly. Under the sweetened-beverage tax, drinks in a bottle or from a fountain machine are taxable. But on-demand, custom-sweetened beverages, such as those mixed by a server or barista, aren't subject to the tax. Also exempt: purchases made with food stamps.</p>
<p>David Ruskin, the lawyer representing the retailers, told the judge at a Thursday hearing that a temporary restraining order was needed because there isn't a system in place for the thousands of consumers who would be due refunds should the tax be found to be unconstitutional. That would make retailers vulnerable to class-action lawsuits by consumers, according to the Tribune report.</p>
<p>The county had argued that if the tax is found unconstitutional, dollars collected could be refunded, which means that there would be no irreparable harm.</p>
<p>Kubasiak sided with the retailers. He also said that the retailers "have persuaded the court that a fair question exists as to the constitutionality of the sweetened beverage tax."</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator">Steve Holtz</div></div></div><span rel="schema:url" resource="/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-delays-countys-soda-tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="schema:name" content="Judge Delays County&#039;s Soda Tax" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Mon, 03 Jul 2017 12:53:03 +0000Steve Holtz49649 at http://www.cspdailynews.comCSP Daily NewsCategory NewsBeverageshttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/judge-delays-countys-soda-tax#comments3 Beverage Taxes Move Forwardhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/3-beverage-taxes-move-forward
<div class="field field--name-field-op-author field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Author(s):&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/profile/steve-holtz" class=" steve-holtz">Steve Holtz</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-image field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/can-the-tax.png" width="885" height="524" alt="can the tax" /></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-summary field--type-text-long field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Summary:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>ABA ratchets up consumer campaigns, prepares for state Supreme Court battle</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-section field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/section/category-news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" category-news">Category News</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/section/beverages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" beverages">Beverages</a></div></div></div><div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-enhanced-slideshow field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Enhanced Slideshow:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/7576" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/can-the-tax_0.png?itok=OOglxFHT" width="885" height="524" alt="Can the tax" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p><strong>CHICAGO --</strong> Beverage retailers and makers in Philadelphia and Cook County, Ill., are ratcheting up their efforts to beat new taxes on soft drinks, while a third effort just begins to take hold.</p>
<p>Here’s a look at where each struggle stands …</p>
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</div></div><div class="field__item odd"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/7577" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<h2>Philadelphia</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/soda-tax-can-sugar-885_0.jpg?itok=FK4rMtW4" width="885" height="524" alt="Soda tax can" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>The Commonwealth Court of Philadelphia on June 14, in a 5-2 ruling, shot down an appeal by the American Beverage Association (ABA) of a lower court’s decision that declared the city’s soda tax legal. The ABA is expected to appeal to the state Supreme Court, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.</p>
<p>The tax went into effect in January, adding 1.5 cents an ounce to the cost of most sugary and diet beverages sold in Philadelphia. Since then, beverages sales in the state have dropped 45%, according to multiple reports. In some cases, manufacturers have discontinued offering 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of drinks, calling them too expensive. And nearly 400 manufacturing jobs have been cut in bottling plants, according to report.</p>
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</div></div><div class="field__item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/7578" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<h2>Illinois&#039; Cook County</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/cook-county-beverage-tax.png?itok=lSdwaS_Q" width="885" height="524" alt="soda tax" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>In Cook County, Ill., the ABA and its “Can the Tax” campaign are urging consumers to “join the fight to stop” a beverage tax that will <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/4-updates-pending-soda-taxes#page=3">go into effect July 1</a>.</p>
<p>“Hundreds of beverages—pop, sports drinks, juice drinks, ice teas, lemonades, even flavored waters and beverages with zero calories—will be hit with tax rates of as much as 30% to 67%,” states <a href="http://stopthecookcountytax.com">the campaign website</a>, which includes a countdown clock “until Cook Country shrinks your wallet.</p>
<p>In stores, the campaign is providing bottleneck hangers (see photo) urging consumers to contact their country commissioner “and tell them to can the tax.”</p>
<p>The penny-per-ounce tax will add 72 cents to the cost of a six-pack of soda or 68 cents for a 2-liter bottle.</p>
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</div></div><div class="field__item odd"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"><div about="/field-collection/field-enhanced-slideshow/7579" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-enhanced-slideshow view-mode-full clearfix">
<h2>Seattle</h2><div class="img-responsive"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.cspdailynews.com/sites/default/files/styles/enhanced_slideshow/public/seattle-mount-rainier-885_0.jpg?itok=hom2lz4q" width="885" height="524" alt="Seattle" /></div><div class="slide-caption"><p>Meanwhile, Seattle's City Council agreed on June 5 to subject any beverages containing “added caloric sweeteners” to a <a href="http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/4-updates-pending-soda-taxes#page=4">new tax of 1.75 cents per fluid ounce</a> beginning in 2018. This includes sports drinks, energy drinks, certain fruit juices and, of course, soda. For a 2-liter bottle of soda, the tax would be $1.18, according to The Seattle Times.</p>
<p>Voters could force the issue to be put to referendum, according to a report by the Tax Foundation. A voter petition with 16,345 signatures would need to be filed within the next month.</p>
<p>“The City Council targeted small business owners and low-income working families with a job-killing tax that will only worsen Seattle’s income inequality, and, despite what councilmembers are promising, it won’t improve public health,” the ABA said in a statement supporting a special election on the issue. “When this tax went to a ballot in Santa Fe, N.M., just last month it was overwhelmingly defeated by the people. Things are hard enough for people living paycheck to paycheck, and this tax will make it even harder.”</p>
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</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-article-keywords field--type-taxonomy-term-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Article Keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/article-keywords/packaged-beverages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" packaged-beverages">packaged beverages</a></div><div class="field__item odd"><a href="/article-keywords/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" class=" taxes">taxes</a></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-next-slideshow field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Next Slideshow:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/category-news/beverages/articles/4-updates-pending-soda-taxes" class=" 4-updates-on-pending-soda-taxes">4 Updates on Pending Soda Taxes</a></div></div></div><span property="dc:title" content="3 Beverage Taxes Move Forward" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>Tue, 20 Jun 2017 20:03:54 +0000Steve Holtz49547 at http://www.cspdailynews.comhttp://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/beverages/articles/3-beverage-taxes-move-forward#comments